Neighbors
Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Rose Byrne lead the cast of Neighbors, a comedy about a young couple suffering from arrested development who are forced to live next to a fraternity house after the birth of their newborn baby.
Neighbors is directed by Nick Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek), who has been known to direct comedy films that avoid stereotypical heroes and villains. He generally shifts your allegiance throughout his films, never giving you a moment to nail your colours to a certain team.
The same can be seen in Neighbors. It's obvious to assume from the outset, that we'll be on team Rogen throughout the duration of this film— but that certainly isn't the case.
We BECOME IMMERSED IN THEIR PRANKS AND SCHEMING
When the war escalates between the suburbanites of a once quiet neighbourhood and the bong smoking, party crazy Delta Psi fraternity— we find ourselves constantly switching teams. Our reasoning is simple; we don't particularly favour one team over the other, we don't particularly care who comes out on top. We've just become so immersed in their pranks and scheming, we simply want more.
Although you can argue that casting Seth Rogan as a responsible father is pushing it, Stoller does do a good job of handling the situation. He guides Rogan into a more culpable avenue, whilst maintaining a small slice of his slacker boy charm.
THEY BELIEVE THEY CAN HANG WITH THE FRATERNITY...
Neighbors doesn't jump head first into mayhem. We are gently moved through the narrative, taking time to establish that Kelly (Byrne) and Mac (Rogen) are a respected couple who are enjoying life as new parents. But in their own warped way, they believe they can hang with the fraternity. This adds another dimension to Rogen and Efron's characters bouncing off one another.
Efron gives a very exemplary performance. He uses every tool you need to be a competent comedic actor. He has timing, quick wit and he's not afraid to get involved with the physical element of comedy.
Neighbors is worth your time. There is nothing new or groundbreaking about this comedy, but it's more than just your typical crude and exaggerated teen flick. There is a competitive edge to the story that is fun to see develop, whilst at the same time, is never over-done. Of course, Neighbors does feature it's fair share of profanity and rude jokes, but they don't stunt the films growth on you.
